Mooring device for submarine mines.



G. E. ELIA.

MOORING'DEVICE FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31, 1913.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Fig.1

WITNESJEJ INVENTOI? ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

G. E. ELI

MOORING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.31,191S.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

3 $HBETS-SHEET 2.

.w h 5 One Md u n Va Wm f m n m w 6 BY ATTORNEYS G. E; BLIA.

- MOORI-NG DEVICE FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 31,1913; 1,059,85 1

Patented Apr. 22, 1913 3 SHEETSr-SHEETL Fig.5

ATTORNEY} UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GIOVANNI EMANUELE ELIA, on PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNGR T vIoKnRs. nimrrnn, OF

LONDON, ENGLAND. 1

MOORING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINEfMINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

Application filed January 31, 1913. Serial No. 745,406.

To'alt whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, GIOVANNI EMANUELE -ELIA, citizen of Italy, and residing at Hotel de Crillon, Place de la Concorde, Paris,

France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to .NlOOI'r mg Devices for Submarine Mines, of which the following is a complete specification.

This invention has for its object a moormg device for submarine mines enabling them to be raised independently of thelr mooring anchor and the device is intended more particularly for rendering the connectionbetween the mine and its anchor detachable in such a manner that these two members can be recovered individually so as to avoid the possibility of accident.

- An embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of the mooring device. Figs. 2 to 9 illustrate diagrammatically the various phases of the raising of a submarine mine moored by means of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Two rod elements a and 0 connected by an assemblage (Z forming a kind of scarf joint are held in the assembled posit-ion represented in Fig. 1 by a sleeve 6 capable i bf sliding on the-rod formed by their connection. The upper element a ends at its upper part in a shackle or ring 6 intended for the reception of the mooring cable of the mine, while the extension 0' of the element 0 receives at itslower end the cable coming from the anchor. The extension 0 of the element 0 may be provided with an opening to receive the cable or the cable may be attached thereto in any suit-able.

manner.

The sleeve 6 is connected at its lower part b means of a watertight break jOill'L-f with the element 0 and at its upper part it member 12/ surrounds the element "0" and a portion of the extension 0, and said hub is held in position by its engagement with the sleeve 2' and the collar 00 on the extension 0, the upper end of the hub being recessed to receive the said sleeve The bell-shaped member n of the hub is provided with notches 0 in which spring retaining tappets p are housed.

In order to moor a submarine mine, the cables 9 of the mine 1' and s of its anchor t are respectively connected with the elements a and 0 (Fig. 2) whereupon the sleeve 2' is locked in position by pouring into the perforations and m for example, sal ammonlac which locks the whole together in the position represented in Fig. 1. After. the mine has been launched and at the end of a certain period of immersion, the melting of the sal ammoniac enables the mine and its anchor to -be raised without any danger. "When it is desired to raise a mine moored in this manner a lifting cable '0' is arranged in the known manner upon two tugs or other vessels 14 (Figs. 2' to 9) which is dragged at an appropriate depth as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The tugs being got under way, the cable a encounters the cables of the anchor 25 and sliding along this cable until-it is stopped by the notches 0 in the bell shaped member n of the hub a. The

towing power is then if necessary, increased when the increase in the reslstance 1nd],-

cates that the cable 41 is in engagement with a mine mooring; this cable, in acting upon I the bell-shaped member 12; breaks the joint f and causes the assemblage constituted, by

the hub n, bell-shaped member n and;the sleeve 2' to slide upon the elements a and c displacing the sleeve 6 which assumes the position represented in broken lines in Fig. 1. The elements a and c then automatically separate and the mine 1" rises owing to its own fioatability carrying with it its cable q and the element a, while the anchor remains integral with the cable -v which is unable to leave the notches 0 because it is retained therein by the tappets 77. When the mine has reached the surface it can readily be recovered without any danger while the anchor can be raised by acting upon the cable 1).

The advantages are as follows :Th1s arrangement permits of ra1s1ng submarine mines in utilizing their own fioatabilit'y Without touching either the mine itself or any of its parts, in such a manner that this operation can be effected Without any danger. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in the case of submarine mines in which the fioatability of the mine acts in combination with its mooring cable for firing it under the influence of the shock of a ship because these mines "no longer present any danger of explosion when their connection with the mooring anchor is disestablished. Furthermore, as the mine and the anchor can be raised separately, theoperation is facilitated and the risk of releasing the striker of the mine is diminished.

The device described can be constructed in any desired manner but it should preferably be inattackable by sea Water and the joint between the sliding parts can be formed in any desired manner. The sleeve 2' might form part of the hub n and its bellshaped member 7% and the notches of the bell-shaped member 17, may present any desired form.

The invention is applicable to the mooring of submarine mines of all kinds upon their mooring cable in such a manner as to permit of readily raising them Without any danger and it is also applicable in ageneral manner to all cases in'which it is desired to connect elements of cables or other parts in such a manner that they cannot be separated except in predetermined conditions.

What I claim is; l. A mooring device for submarine mines,

comprising members to which the mine and anchor cables are secured, a sleeve slidable on the said members, a breakable joint connecting the sleeve with one of the said members, and a-member for engagement with a cable to break the joint when force is ex-.

erted thereon by the cable.

2. A mooring device for submarine mines, comprising two members having a scarf joint, one of the said members having an extension provided with a collar, a sliding sleeve on the members at the joint, Water tight oints bet veenthe sleeve and the members, one of the joints being breakable, a

second sliding sleeye secured to the first sleeve, and a hub having a bell-shaped membet and engaging the second sleeve and the collar of the said extension, the hub being provided With a bell-shaped member having notches and spring pressed tappets in said my hand, at Rom' e ltaly, this 18th day of January,-1913.

GIOVANNI EMANUELE ELIA,

In the presenceof two Witnesses:

GIOVANNI ,V ALA TELLI,

FORELLO FOUPANI. 

